From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. It's small town, big drama in Schaffert's sublime latest (after Devils in the Sugar Shop) as Essie Myles, an 83-year-old widowed obituary writer for a small Nebraska newspaper stumbles onto the story of her life. The paper's printing press has been working double-time since a New York publisher contracted it to print part of the print run for the final installment of a wildly popular YA novel series—part of a plan to keep the book's contents under wraps—and Essie kicks into high gear as well when she gets a tip from a local that her daughter, Lenore, has been abducted by her photographer boyfriend. But the more Essie digs, it becomes less evident whether the tale is true or the concoction of a lonely woman desperate for attention. Meanwhile, parts of the YA novel are leaked, the missing person story blows up, and the once quiet town suddenly finds itself on the national stage. Schaffert spins out the story and its offbeat characters with compassion, spoofing the nation's voracious appetite for "news" and suggesting that perhaps not all stories are created equal. Piercing observations and sharp, subtle wit make this a standout. (May)
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Review
STARRED REVIEW It's small town, big drama in Schaffert's sublime latest (after Devils in the Sugar Shop) as Essie Myles, an 83-year-old widowed obituary writer for a small Nebraska newspaper stumbles onto the story of her life. The paper's printing press has been working double-time since a New York publisher contracted it to print part of the print run for the final installment of a wildly popular YA novel series--part of a plan to keep the book's contents under wraps--and Essie kicks into high gear as well when she gets a tip from a local that her daughter, Lenore, has been abducted by her photographer boyfriend. But the more Essie digs, it becomes less evident whether the tale is true or the concoction of a lonely woman desperate for attention. Meanwhile, parts of the YA novel are leaked, the missing person story blows up, and the once quiet town suddenly finds itself on the national stage. Schaffert spins out the story and its offbeat characters with compassion, spoofing the nation's voracious appetite for "news" and suggesting that perhaps not all stories are created equal. Piercing observations and sharp, subtle wit make this a standout. (May) --Publisher's Weekly
There s a lot of plot to The Coffins of Little Hope. But Mr. Schaffert s style is so gossamer-light that the story elements don t become cumbersome. His book can accommodate a large cast of characters who bump into one another with an almost screwball regularity ... Mr. Schaffert s sly wit and frank affection for his characters can make him sound like a very American Alexander McCall Smith ... --Janet Maslin, The New York Times
A witty, sometimes profound story about media, mortality and rash acts undertaken in the name of love. --People Magazine
Charm buzzes all around Timothy Schaffert s new novel, but don t be fooled. It s the story of a steadfast, multi-generational family in a small Nebraska town . . . that just happens to be obsessed with death and missing children. The Coffins of Little Hope is like an Edward Gorey cartoon stitched in pastel needlepoint. Its creepiness scurries along the edges of these heartwarming pages like some furry creature you keep convincing yourself you didn t see....alluringly strange to the very last page. --Ron Charles, The Washington Post
